Informal Institutions And Rural Development In China (routledge Studies On The Chinese Economy)

Providing an account of the role of informal institutions in Chinese rural development, this book, based on a decade of fieldwork of village life in the Chinese countryside, puts forth a distinctive argument on a very important topic in Chinese economic and social affairs. Focusing in particular on three major informal institutions: village trust and Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs), guanxi community and Integrating Village with Company (IVWC) governance, it argues that informal institutions, traditions and customs are all critical factors for facilitating modernization and social and economic development, promoting the integration of trust, reciprocity, responsibility and obligation into economic and social exchange processes and considerably lowering risks and transactions costs. This detailed account is an invaluable resource for postgraduates and researching studying and working in this area. Winner of the 2008 Zhang Peigang Development Economics Award. "This book shows the great importance of informal institutions on the economic and social development of rural China. It examines the relationship between informal institutions and rural development in China since the end of the 1970s, focusing in particular on three major informal institutions: village trust and rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs), guanxi community, and 'integrating village with company' (IVWC) governance. It argues that informal institutions, traditions and customs are all critical factors for facilitating modernization and social and economic development, enabling the integration of trust, reciprocity, responsibility and obligation into economic and social exchange processes, and considerably lowering risks and transactions costs. It does this by analysing case studies that illustrate how informal institutions function and support development in rural China."--BOOK JACKET Introduction : Background Of The Research -- Village Trust, Guanxi Community And Ivwc Governance : An Interdisciplinary Approach To Informal Institutional Analysis In Rural China -- Indigenous Conceptions Of Networks -- Selection Of Research Areas -- Village Trust And Bidding Roscas -- Guanxi Community And People's Mobility -- Guanxi Community And Tve Development In China -- The Institution Of 'integrating Village With Company' (ivwc) And Rural Community Development -- Conclusion : Integration Of Tradition And Modernity : Towards Understanding Institutional Arrangements In China's Modernization. Biliang Hu. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [296]-340) And Index. Introduction : background of the research Village trust, guanxi community and IVWC governance : an interdisciplinary approach to informal institutional analysis in rural China Indigenous conceptions of networks Selection of research area Village trust and bidding ROSCAs Guanxi community and people's mobility Guanxi community and TVEs development in China Institution of "integrating village with company" (IVWC) and rural community development Conclusion : integration of tradition and modernity : towards understanding institutional arrangements in China's modernization.